Fearless
by Death Goddess Assassin
Summary: Something happened to Kel in Scanra...something that turned her cold, and fearless, something cruel...and only Alanna knows what. PG-13 just in case. YES! COMPLETE!
1. Prologue: Kel's Return

This chapter is going to be pretty short I think, but that's because it's more or less a prologue.  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of Tamora Pierce's characters. The plot is mine. Actually, the whole fearless thing also kind of belongs to Francine Pascal. But anyway, don't sue. Please.  
  
Chapter One: Kel's Return  
  
The mess hall was silent as Keladry of Mindelan and Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau strolled to where the monarchs sat. For the most part, Alanna looked no different. She still had the coppery curls and those odd purple eyes; she was still a fountain of temper packed into a small, stocky body.  
  
But Kel was different. It wasn't just her brown hair, which was longer, or her figure, which had slimmed, but her eyes-cold, indifferent pale green eyes that were once a lively green-hazel. Her generous mouth was twisted up in a sneer; her delicately built nose wrinkled somewhat with distaste. It was almost like she was a feminine version of Joren.  
  
"Hi, Jon," Alanna said informally, bowing carelessly to King Jonathan and Queen Thayet of Conte. As Champion, she could get away with public greetings as such.  
  
Kel nodded shortly to the royal couple. Alarm sprang to violet eyes as Alanna nudged her. "Bow," she whispered urgently. She rolled her eyes, but bowed, then joined her friends at a table. Reluctantly the room began to buzz with small talk again. Alanna kept her eyes on Kel.  
  
"Uh . . . Kel?" Cleon of Kennan asked hesitantly.  
  
"What?" she snapped irritably.  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Are you okay, Kel?" Nealan of Queenscove, her best friend, asked worriedly.  
  
"Don't I look okay?" Kel said.  
  
Neal decided for the first time in his life to remain silent.  
  
"What's been going on?" she finally said. Better to pretend nothing's wrong, she thought, so Al will stay off my back.  
  
"Y-Yuki and I got married," Neal offered.  
  
"Congratulations," she said insincerely. A little hurt, he returned to his food.  
  
"Ermelian is pregnant," Cleon said hopefully.  
  
"Tactless," Kel said loftily, "talking about your pregnant wife to an old flame."  
  
Stunned, he too returned to his food. The rest of her friends, all of who had been eager to share their own news, remained silent for fear of being put down also. Except Owen of Jesslaw, of course.  
  
"I'm a knight," he said.  
  
"Great," she said with greatly mustered warmness, though her voice tinted with a chill. She shot a glance at Alanna, noticed her warning gaze, and knew she was in for a lecture later.  
  
"How was your, um, trip to Scanra?" Faleron of King's Reach said.  
  
Kel flinched ever so slightly and slipped her Yamani Lump Face on. "Fine," she said simply.  
  
"Keladry, may I speak with you?" Alanna said, her sharp voice ringing clearly around the room. Kel groaned and stood up, following the shorter woman out.  
  
"Is it just me, or is Mindelan looking a bit odd?" Wyldon of Cavall said.  
  
"She's acting odd, too," Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak murmured. "I heard her talking with her friends. She seems . . . icy. What happened?"  
  
Listening outside the door, Kel smirked. Alanna punched her on the shoulder. "Listen to me!" she hissed.  
  
Kel glanced at her coldly. "Make me."  
  
Alanna swallowed. If she tried, Kel would hurt her, unafraid of the consequences, unafraid of anything.  
  
"I don't want them to figure it out," Alanna said softly.  
  
"Figure what out?"  
  
"You know what I'm talking about."  
  
"I'm not scared of being found out," Kel said shortly, and left.  
  
Of course you're not, Alanna thought, tears forming behind her eyes.  
  
You can't be, she thought sadly. You're fearless now . . .


	2. Secrets

Thank you to all my reviewers!!! Oh, and PsychoLioness13, thanks for pointing out that cafeteria thing. I didn't realize I had put that instead of mess hall. *shrugs* I'm glad I have you. And don't worry, Rowana Silvakisma, Kel won't go completely Gaia on us.

Chapter Two: Secrets

On the top of Balor's Needle, astonishingly, was where Neal spotted Kel. Her legs were dangling precariously off the edge.

"Kel!" he screamed so she could hear him. She leaned forward.

"What?" she called back snappishly. He almost couldn't hear her over the wind. The same wind whipped her brown hair around her hard face.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting on Balor's Needle, you silly ass. What's it look like I'm doing?"

"But . . . aren't you afraid of heights?"

She was silent for a moment. "I was," she said finally. "Not anymore."

Something in her tone, heard even from the distance between him, had him looking especially hard at her. "Can I come up?"

"Sure," she said, but her eyes—her changed, clear pale green eyes—were annoyed.

He was up there within five minutes. She rose to meet him, a cool smile plastered on her face. She was lovelier than he, or anybody else, remembered. 

"Hi," Neal said reluctantly. Now that he was here, he was hesitant to say whatever he wanted to say. "Can I, uh, can we talk?"

"About what?" she asked briskly. 

"Your attitude," he said nervously. She glared at him. Mithros, what was _wrong_ with her? 

"What's wrong with my attitude?" 

"It's cold," Neal said bluntly. "It's mean. What happened back in Scanra?"

Not a single thing flickered in her expression. "Nothing."

"Oh, so your attitude just froze over night?"

"Yes. Now, leave me be."

"Kel, talk to me," he yelled in frustration. "Why are you so…so…" he fished for a word. "Cruel?" he finally said. 

"I am not cruel. I am normal as can be."

"Normal?!" Neal spluttered. "You are best friends with Yuki, and me, and yet you put us down as easily as you cut cake. Cleon, old sweetheart though he is, is also a good friend, but you insult him without batting an eyelash. And then there was Owen. You hurt him most of all, acting that you didn't care about his new knighthood at all. What _happened_? Please, talk to me!"

Kel regarded him dully, her eyes devoid of emotion. "Why should I?"

"You know what?" he spat. "Forget it. Maybe someone else will tell me."

She read his mind. "Don't bother asking Al," she said coldly. "She knows what would happen if she ratted on me."

"What would happen?"

"I would hurt her very, very bad."

(A/N: Okay, Kel is beginning to scare even me. And I'm writing this story!!! Oh, and yes, I know it's a little weird, and is not making much sense, but I feel like writing something. It's not my best fic, but hey. I like writing.)  

~*~

"What's wrong with Kel?"

Cornered. Great. The king, the queen, Buri, Neal, Raoul, and Cleon formed a ring around Alanna. 

"What's wrong with Kel?" Raoul repeated. 

Alanna remained silent. 

"Tell me!" Neal said shrilly.

"Nothing," she finally said. "Nothing's wrong with her."

"Like hell," Buri said bluntly. "Tell us, Alanna. We promise we won't tell her or anybody else we told you."

Maybe she should tell them…Alanna opened her mouth to speak.

"Al?"

She gulped and wheeled around, as did the others, to face Kel. Her long form leaned carelessly against the wall.

"Care to share the secret?"

"No," the Lioness mumbled meekly. 

Everyone was silent. Never before had their fiery redhead friend been known to show humility of any kind, especially to a younger person. Now they were witnessing it, and to Kel—quiet, uncomplicated Kel.

"Then I suggest you, my dear, leave us be, so my friends and I can have a talk."

Alanna left abruptly, glancing sadly at the others. 

"Kel?" Raoul said timidly.

"What?"

He flinched at the harsh tone of her voice. "Can't you talk to us? Some? At least give us a clue!"

Kel pondered this a moment, then straightened from her place against the wall. "Clue number one: Something's missing."

"Well, _duh_," Buri said, exasperatedly. "We know. Can't you give us more?"

"No."

"Please?"

"When I say no, I mean _no_."

Without another word, Kel pivoted and left. Stunned, they watched her broad back retreat around the corner.

"She's missing a heart, that's what she's missing," Neal grumbled.

"I don't think it's a heart," King Jonathan said slowly.

"More like something we have, and she once had, but is now missing," Queen Thayet said thoughtfully.

"It's a heart I tell you! A HEART!" Neal yelled.

"Shut up, already, Neal," Cleon barked. 

Neal fell silent, but not before he added in a low murmur, "I still say she lost her heart."


	3. Battle

I'm irking some reviewers, aren't I? Don't you just hate it when you read a fanfic with a secret in it that you don't know? Maybe, if you're REALLY lucky, I'll reveal Kel's little secret in this chapter or the next. Or maybe I'll just torture you. Pray, dear reviewers. Pray.

Oh, and someone (I am too lazy to find out which reviewer) pointed out to me that Alanna was not sent to the Scanran border and that Daine and Kel would have been better for this story because the Lioness is not as familiar with our favorite lady knight as Daine is. So we'll just pretend that Al was sent to the Scanran border, met Kel, they became good friends, and then came back. Okay? Okay.

Chapter Three: Battle

All by herself, Kel sat at a table, hunched over her meal. Her friends—and enemies—observed her with confused and scrutinizing eyes. Alanna stood in a corner, shoulders slightly hunched, the picture of remorse and anguish. 

_Something's missing_.

Whatever happened to Kel in Scanra obviously bugged Alanna relentlessly.

_I am not cruel. I am normal as can be_.

Her attitude disturbed everyone—but none so much as Neal, her friend, her confidante, her brother. 

_She knows what would happen if she ratted on me_.__

_What would happen?_

_I would hurt her very, very bad_.

Alanna was in on it. Or, at least, she knew the truth…whatever it was. With renewed conviction, Neal stood up, slammed his plate down, and marched up to her, oblivious of the many pairs of startled eyes following his every movement. 

"What's wrong with you?" he said.

Slightly surprised, though not startled, Kel glanced up briefly from her stew. "Nothing."

"What's wrong with you?" he repeated.

"I told you, nothing."

"What's wrong with you?"

_This is getting ridiculous_, she thought. Sighing, she folded her napkin and threw it in her bowl.

"Here's the second clue: every single person in this room has what I'm missing. Every single one, no matter how much they try to deny it. Happy?"

"No."

"Tough cookies," she said.

Just then, a young boy clad in a servant's clothes stumbled in, his eyes wild. "Scanrans," he panted, "Scanrans are in the woods about a mile from here—hundreds of them!"

"An attack," King Jonathan muttered darkly. A split second later knights and their squires were shouting and making such a commotion that Kel, annoyed, got up and left. Those that noticed—like Neal, and Raoul—stored away a mental note to lecture her on the duty as a knight.

But Kel was not stupid. She went to her rooms, calmly donned her armor, and then left with Griffin grasped firmly in her gloved hand. Upon reaching the stables, she found that not a single horse remained—save her Peachblossom, the rowdy gelding who wanted nothing more that to right now beat some serious Scanran ass like all his stallion buddies were doing. Without bothering to saddle or even bridle him, Kel mounted the giddy roan and they took off toward the woods.

~*~

The boy was not kidding when he said there were hundreds of them—estimated, there were five Scanrans to every one Tortallan. Inexperienced, nervous squires wiped their sweaty brows with their hands. Hardened, ready knights tensed and put their steady hands on their swords.

In the five seconds that the knights and their squires were waiting two things happened at once: the Scanrans ambushed and Kel galloped through with a set face and a deadly sword. 

Confused at both, some knights glanced behind at the woman, thinking they were being attacked from behind. Most of those knights were killed. Only two or three lived through that—Cleon being one. 

Four Scanrans broke away from the attack to bear down on the young lady knight. Ten seconds later their bloodied bodies dropped to the ground, limbs severed and unrecognizable. Some Scanrans, seeing what happened, screamed and leaped for her; they were hacked away. Without an ounce of fear on her face Kel kicked Peachblossom into the heart of the Scanran mass, slashing at every body her sword could reach. 

It became obvious to most of the more cool-headed Tortallans who were not losing their heads and killing every thing in sight that this girl could easily destroy the entire army of Scanrans and escape with only a scratch. Even conservatives, her greatest enemies, realized this.

Not even an hour passed when the Scanrans began to retreat, their fear no longer directed on all Tortallans, but on Kel, a dangerous non-maiden lethally skilled with weapons. In the last thirty minutes of the battle she had been the only one fighting; help was not needed. She was handling the fight fine.

Now, with only a scratch that may leave a scar over her eyes, Kel returned, her gelding prancing—exhaustedly, but prancing nonetheless—over towards the bulk of Tortallans. 

"What the fuck was that?" Gareth the Younger squawked. "You completely pulverized almost the entire Scanran party into dust!"

Silently, Kel accepted an offer of bread and cheese and did not so much as glance at him. 

"Answer me, you…you…" Apparently even Gary, normally sharp-witted, was at a loss for words.

Save Alanna, face blank though etched with sorrow, everyone was staring at the muscled brunette who nudged her horse into a canter and disappeared in the woods.

Raoul sighed. "Clue number one: something's missing. No, Neal, it's not a heart. Clue number two: what was it? Everyone has it, no matter how hard they deny it? Well, that does sound like a heart…After all, people don't think Wyldon has a heart, do they?"

"Finally!" Neal burst. "Someone finally sees that Kel is missing a heart!"

"It's not a heart," Alanna blurted, unable to stop herself. She hung her head. "What Kel is missing is a—"

"Al! Come on!"

Abruptly, the Lioness shut her mouth with an almost audible click and scurried after Kel obediently.              


	4. Revelation

**All right, I'll take mercy on you. In this chapter I will tell you what happened. Maybe. And when I said that Kel was everyone's favorite lady knight or whatever in the previous chapter it was a figure of speech. No hidden meaning lied in the depths in there. But if it makes reviewers feel better, I am editing it to make it say _MY_ favorite lady knight, okay? And obedient does not describe Alanna, yes, but doing what someone wants is called obedient, and since Alanna followed Kel when Kel asked, I'm calling it obedient.**

Disclaimer: I own neither Tamora Pierce characters nor the Fearless plot thingy. Now that that's done with—ONWARD TO THE STORY!

Chapter Four: Revelation

Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop found his wife sitting in the Royal Gardens, her face sad. He felt his heartstrings pull; his Alanna would not let anything get past her tough, (sometimes) boyish exterior. Whatever happened in Scanra must have been awful to hurt her in this way. 

"Alanna," George said softly, sitting beside her. She turned her head and looked up at him. Her violet eyes were swollen and red-rimmed slightly and her nose was red, so he knew she had been crying. "You need to tell someone about Kel. Maybe it can be fixed."

"No," the small woman muttered, shaking her head. "It can't be…not unless she gets another with the exact same amount…"

"Another what?" her husband urged. "What with the exact same amount?"

Alanna looked up at him, and he felt his heart race. This is it, he thought, she's going to tell me…

(A/N: You're going to hate me for this)

"Excuse me? Baron, Baroness?"

"Oh, _WAIT_!" George bellowed. The maid jumped back, her eyes round.

"The k-king j-j-just w-wanted me t-to tell you that y-you both are needed in the m-mess hall. He has L-Lady K-K-K-K-K-Keladry in th-there." As soon as the words stumbled from her mouth the timid maid scuttled away.

"They probably wants me to spill the beans," Alanna sighed in resignation. "I suppose I'll have to. Maybe there is a way to fix what she's missing."

"What is she missing?" George asked gently.

Looking up at him, she opened her mouth and told him everything.

~*~

"I want the truth, Keladry."

Face blank, Kel stared up at the king. "Why do you want the truth, sire?"

Jonathan blinked. "Because everybody is worried about you, that's why."

Just then Alanna and George entered the room, the baron's face stunned as he glanced at his wife's successor. 

"She told you?" Kel asked in mild annoyance. Reluctantly the baron nodded and she shrugged, adding in a monotone, "Well then, I might as well tell all of you." 

Shooting a nasty look at her redhead friend, Kel began to tell the truth in front of her fellow knights. 

"You all know how Alanna and I were sent to Scanra. During our stay there, we were kidnapped by King Maggur's soldiers and taken to his palace. There, he experimented on me. He told me all he wanted to do was see if I could exist without it. If I could, he'd give it back to me. It turned out I could live without it, but I never got it back. He released us both and we came back here."

"What did he take away?" Queen Thayet asked quietly.

Kel looked her in the eye. "He took away my fear gene."

~*~

I am so disgusted with myself it's not even funny. For some reason I am not able to make long chappies for this fic. I have no problems with The Return of Joren. Oh well. You reviewers just need to bear with me. Oh, and that reminds me—my cousin Mandy just joined FanFiction.Net and is known as Knyghtmare. She just sent in a fic called "Demon Children!". Just thought I'd let you know.         


	5. Friends

*Feels bad* Sorry, Flaming Knight, I didn't mean to sound so…snappish. It's just that ever since my fiancée dumped me any criticism gets me depressed or infuriated. I know I should kick put his lazy, no-good, two-timing, big fat ass out of the picture, but I loved him…I really did…and then he dumped me, just like that. *shrugs* So anything cruel I say should not be taken seriously. Last night my sister Kaylei asked me to pass the potatoes and I burst into tears. Pretty sad, huh? So don't worry about it. In any normal state I would not have taken your very well-constructed (thank you and all my other reviewers so much for not yelling at me or anything like that!) so seriously, like you told me not to, but everything just seems to get under my skin. 

And for those who have read this far—don't you feel stupid? After all, the title of this fic kind of gave it away. LOL, just kidding.

Chapter Five: Friends

"I thought it was a heart," Neal said in awe. Seaver boxed his ears. "Ow!" he whined.

"Ah, stuff it," Faleron muttered. 

"So you mean to tell me," Raoul said slowly, "that you can't fear anything?"

"Correct," Kel said. 

"That doesn't explain your cold attitude, though," Owen added.

She looked at him. "I'm cold to you because I have no fear. My love for all my friends also included the fear of you all hating me, or rejecting me, or betraying me, or ending our friendship. Since I feel no fear now, I am not afraid of being mean to you and losing your trust and love. I want to say I'm sorry about that."

"All is forgiven," Neal said immediately. Her other friends agreed.

For the first time since she came, a very human emotion flicked across her stone face. It was confusion, pure and simple.

"After all I've done, you'd still forgive me?" she asked, her face a pleasant screen of wonder and puzzlement. "Why?"

"'Cause we love you, dope," Raoul said fondly.

Then, something amazing happened—she smiled, a real smile, not just one of her cool, phony ones, but real a real one.

"Thank you," she said gently.

"What are friends for?" Cleon said loftily.

Merric cracked his knuckles eagerly. "What happened to your fear gene?"

"He put it in a bottle."

"What do genes look like, anyway?" Numair asked curiously.

"I _knew_ he was going to ask that!" Daine exclaimed.

"Since genes are not really physical—more like cells—it's hard to say," Kel tried to explain. "They look like DNA, I guess."

"Oh." A heartbeat later he asked, "What's DNA?"

"The stuff that makes you up."

"Oh."

"So your fear gene is all bottled up?" Seaver asked. "Does that mean we can get it back?"

Kel blinked. "I guess so," she said, shrugging.

Jonathan nodded. "Then we'll get that bottle back. I doubt he'll leave something so precious in Scanra where so many enemies lurk when he visits us."

"Visits us?" the entire room chorused.

Thayet shot him an evil look. "And when, exactly, was I to get word of this?" she asked briskly. The king blushed. 

"I was _going_ to tell you," he said defensively. 

The queen rolled her eyes. "Suuuuure."

"I was," he insisted.

"I believe you," Thayet assured unconvincingly. 

"Why does he want to visit us?" Numair asked.

"To compromise," Jon said.

"Forget compromise," Wyldon snarled. "Roast him like a turkey!"

"I like turkeys," Neal snapped. "So don't insult them!"

"Blast it all, I can insult them if I want to!"

Neal leaped on his former training-master. A catfight proceeds.

"When is he coming?" Alanna asked. Her face now seemed devoid of most of the sorrow, and she seemed happier than she had in days.

Jonathan coughed, and his queen peered suspiciously at him. "In three days," he muttered.

Raoul cackled. "And when he comes—"

"We'll be ready," Neal finished.

~*~

Wow! I've updated a lot! It's like, two updates in one morning (or is it afternoon?) or something like that. I'm on a roll! 


	6. Author's Note: A Must Read!

Yeah, I know I haven't updated in a while, and I'm so very sorry. But my grandfather died, and my mom and me have been in Ohio visiting him. And when I came back, I realized that I had forgotten the fucking password for my email, so I have to wait 24 hours to see all your wonderful reviews and emails that I want to receive. I forgot the secret answer to the secret question thingy, so I can't get a new password. And when I thought of another answer for the question it told me that my account has been temporarily disabled.  
  
I feel kinda bad too. Whenever I saw a new chapter to a favorite story, I got real excited, and when it turned out to be an Author's Note I got so, so, so, SO mad. Heh. So from now on, if you want to email me, send it through my cousin Mandy's (a.k.a. Knyghtmare) email. Again, I'm really sorry about this. I'm only glad that that email was not the email I used most.  
  
Lots o' love, Miri 


	7. Maggur

It turns out I didn't change my password after all. I thought I had, when it wouldn't let me on, but it turned out all that had happened was *cough* I had misspelled the password. Gods, do I feel stupid…

Chapter Six: Maggur 

The day of King Maggur's arrival, the whole palace was busy. Warnings had been sent to all Tortallans that they not kill Maggur, no matter how tempting the thought may be. Queen Thayet had been busy all the three days ("Curse you for such short time to decorate, Jonathan!"), trying to fix the palace up.

All of Kel's friends had gone of secretly together. She suspected they were off planning a way to get her fear gene back.

She didn't care if she did or not. She figured that when Maggur left, her hide would be hanging from the palace gates so the world could see how the fearless knight got herself killed when she attacked Maggur.

That was her plan. If she could not get her fear gene back, then why not put it to her advantage? She might as well kill Maggur while she could. 

~*~

King Maggur walked in the mess hall, which had been polished and decorated until it shined and look nothing like the mess hall before. About ten blond, blue-eyed Scanrans, all clad in poorly made armor and swords flanked him. Shivers went up every spine (except Kel's, of course) at the sight of Maggur and his ugly face. No denying they were scared (except Kel), scared of the maggot and what he has done and could do to their country.

He was not the prettiest seashell on the beach shore; if anything he was one of those cracked ones that you'd never take a second glance at. Had he not been king, Neal suspected he would have screamed and run from the room. Maggur's blond hair was thinning, and it looked bad, as his hair was long, as though he was trying to conceal the fact that his hair was lessening. He had squinty eyes more silver than gray. His build was thin, though he was at a towering height. How the hell did someone that ugly get to be king? It was something for the _much_ more handsome, green-eyed knight to ponder on a rainy day. 

"Hello, King Jonathan," King Maggur said smoothly, glancing around the room.

His roaming gaze around the room fell on Kel, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, well, well," he said. "If it isn't the little fearless knight herself. How are you doing?"

Kel remained silent, staring at him with impassive eyes. His cold smile disappeared and he stopped walking. "Answer me, you worthless Tortallan." Angry murmurs around the room broke through the quiet. Quickly Maggur smiled. "Ah, forgive me."

"What do you want, Maggur?" Jonathan asked coldly. 

A smile un-graced his thin lips. "Why don't we talk, in private?" he said. 

After a second Jonathan nodded, and motioned for his fellow king to follow him and his queen. As soon as they disappeared, the ten Scanrans relaxed and started talking gibberish among themselves. The Tortallans did likewise.

"Wonder what he wants," Alanna murmured thoughtfully, her purple-eyed gaze fixed on the door the three monarchs disappeared behind.

"Probably to discuss my little dilemma," Kel replied tersely. She flexed her fingers.

Alanna forced her gaze to leave the door and instead fix on Kel. "You have a plan," she said sternly. "What is it?"

"I will not tell you," Kel answered with the same kind of brusqueness. 

Knowing that no matter how hard she begged, her friend would not tell, Alanna sighed. "Just don't do anything stupid," was all she said.

Kel took a deep breath and watched the door with an almost eager look. One of the Scanrans glanced at her and called to her in his language. She answered back coolly and the man scowled at her as the other nine burst into laughter.

"You should treat me with respect," the Scanran said hesitantly, letting the foreign words of Tortallan roll off his tongue in a heavy accent. "You will die, today."

Rolling her eyes, Kel leaned back against the table and once again stared at the doorway.

"Hey," he shouted. "You dirty little whore, speak to me when I'm talking to you."

She yawned. The veins in his neck and forehead strained against his pockmarked skin. At time like these she was most happy that she was fearless. Had she not been so genuinely indifferent, she would have been hacked in half long ago. Like dogs and horses, these soldiers could sense the fear radiating off of you.   

"Listen to me!" he shrieked, stamping his foot. 

Kel examined her fingernails disinterestedly. When he stomped over toward her she looked up in mild surprise, as though she had just realized he was there.

"Yano," one of the Scanrans called cautiously. "Don't give anything away."

Yano. The name sounded familiar. She watched his face carefully as he came nearer. 

It clicked. 

Yano was Maggur's right-hand man, his most trusted advisor. This man was the one who would have her bottled fear gene. And as he marched closer, she glimpsed a swinging bottle tied with a thong around his neck. Of course the Scanran king would not be foolish enough to carry it himself. He would give it to one of his subjects.

"Yes, Yano, we'd not want you to lose your lover-king's trust," she said sweetly. His face turned red, and he opened his mouth to retort. But before he could the door slammed open and the Scanran king stomped out.

"That deal is unfair and you know it," he fumed.

"Actually, Maggur, it's quite fair," King Jonathan said calmly. "But you, being a horrible person and a bad king at that, cannot see that."

Maggur's rheumy eyes bulged. Then, he did something quite unexpected. He reached behind Jonathan and grabbed Queen Thayet by the neck. The room gasped and screamed as he pulled a knife to her throat.

"No sudden movements, Tortallans, or the lady dies," he hissed.

"No sudden movements, Scanrans, or the king's 'mistress' gets it."

Horrified, the king wheeled around to see his green-eyed experiment holding his Yano by the throat, her dagger to his eye and the bottle of fear in her hand. 

"Release Thayet, dear, or your boyfriend gets it," Kel said icily, her pale eyes gleaming. 

Reluctantly, he let go of Thayet. In return she let go of Yano and smiled crookedly at him as she uncorked the bottle. 

The vial glowed as silver light streamed out of the little opening. Reaching the top of the ceiling it curved downward and made a beeline for Kel. It dove into every opening, every pore of her body and illuminated her features, making her clear green eyes into a green-gray and her light brown hair into a strange pale blonde. Her mouth opened slightly into a silent cry and a streak of silver dashed into there. The whole room was deeply reminded of some kind of savage ice princess. 

As quick as the light came it vanished, and Kel collapsed on the floor. Nobody in the room moved. Then Kel looked up. 

Tears clouded her green-hazel eyes.

"I feel," she whispered. "I feel the fear."   


	8. Fear

**My GODS, Rubber Duck, you don't have to be so gods-awful PUSHY! Sheesh…I'm just messin', don't worry. I didn't think this fic was so loved ^.^ *tear* I'm so happy…yes, it's still the medication. Oh, and this may not be very long…I want to finish it up and plus I've kind of run out of ideas. Heh…but at least it's something. Did you know I initially began writing this as a Kel/Dom fic? And yet no Dom anywhere…hm.   **

**Disclaimer: Heh, I've been forgetting this. I own no characters. At all. Okay. **

Chapter Eight: Fear

It was like a light had burst through that dim haze of impassiveness, raining beams of illumination down on her. Kel stared down at her fingers, watching the tendons flex with new interest. She felt pure and whole…complete. She _felt_. She did not care what she felt…as long as she did.

King Maggur let out a shriek of fury. Incensed, he screamed something in his own language and the ten guards—plus about twenty more streaming through the doors—went into action.

And at the first sign of movement all Tortallans went nuts. They were indignant—their enemy-king had tried to murder their queen. They were furious—their enemy-king had stolen a young woman's gene. And they were bloodthirsty—their enemy-king had invaded them in the country's very palace, had taken advantage of the opportunity. 

For every knight, every squire, every servant, it was war.

Getting hold of every thing even remotely sharp or painful, including spoons and candles, the Tortallans battled with all their strength. Even though they outnumbered the Scanrans, these enemies had been extremely well trained, and for every dead Scanran, two Tortallans followed. 

Kel spotted Maggur escape out one of the doors, with Yano in tow. Teeth bared, she dodged attacks and followed them. When she could hear their voices, she slowed down.

"So, Maggur, what's next?" Yano asked in Scanran. 

"My Scanrans will surely finish most of these Tortallan fools off," the king replied silkily. 

At the sound of his unpleasant voice she bristled.

"And those who survive will either surrender to me, or fall under the blade of my other loyal followers hidden at the border."

They were in the royal gardens now. That last bit of information Kel quickly stored away for further use. 

She stepped on a twig. 

Kel used the brief moment it took for them to turn around to duck behind a huge rose bush. 

"Someone's here," Yano whispered to his master. 

"I know. And I think I know…who…it…_is_!"

Kel screamed as Maggur's ugly face poked through the bush, stale breath fouling up the air around her. His hands grabbed her neck and his long yellow fingernails bit into the tender flesh of her throat. As his hands squeezed she realized, _He's going to choke me. I'm going to die by a man choking me through a rose bush_.

At the same time she dreaded it, she loved it…because she was scared. She was terrified. No emotion ever felt so sweet as fear like it did then.

She could hear Yano's eager, breathless laugh and hear herself whimper as she struggled for breath. Spots were winking at her at the corner of her eyes. She was too weak to lift her arms to grab her sword, like she should have done first thing. Now she would die, because she had been foolish.

_And then she would no longer feel._

_Again_.

"NO!" she screamed, and brought her knee up through the tangle of briars, feeling the delightful sensation called pain, _fearing_ it, and kneed him in the groin.

With a howl of agony, Maggur stumbled back, only to be replaced by a snarling Yano. But this time she was ready. The blade of her sword made a ringing sound as she withdrew it, and with a buzzing whoosh sliced through the air. A loud crack—the sound of bone and flesh against metal—reverberated through the air, and where Yano's head once was there was now empty air.

Maggur stared brokenly at the headless broken body of his late lover as it stumbled back, limbs jerking reflexively, and crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap. He looked up and stared blankly at the sword coming for him. Inches away from his body, he straightened and even helped it find its mark by guiding the point into his heart. Soon, he, too, was dead, bleeding as much as Yano was. 

Kel closed her eyes and put her palm against her chest, reveling in the frantic pitter patter of her heart. 

"Kel!"

She wheeled around and found herself being squeezed to death by a blood-spattered Owen. 

"Owen, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. He looked up at her.

"Oh, yes," he said cheerfully. "The fight was pretty hard, but we beat them, and damned if it wasn't a jolly show." His gaze wandered to the two dead bodies and he paled. "Now that's not jolly…not at all." He turned green and quickly excused himself. 

Chuckling, Kel cleaned her sword and sheathed it once more. She felt weak and limp. She felt tired. She felt scared. She felt wonderfully, delightfully, joyfully, _alive_.

~*~****

**Ugh…shitty ending I know. Oh well. It was the only thing I could think of.             **


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